Surface‐State Controls on Dust Emission Variability in Lower Mesopotamia and Kuwait Using Field and Multi‐High‐Resolution Satellite Data

Aeolian dust strongly influences climate, air quality, and biogeochemical cycles, yet identifying source areas and determining their surface‐state controls remain challenging. We focus on lower Mesopotamia and Kuwait, a globally significant dust source region where surface characteristics of dust sources remain poorly understood through satellite‐guided field studies. We integrate systematic field surveys with high‐resolution satellite data to (a) quantify how surface controls regulate emissions from adjacent dust sources, (b) identify the surface‐state controls that distinguish dust‐emitting surfaces from non‐emitting areas within similar geomorphic units, and (c) determine how controls attribute during the dust season differ from their non‐dust season states. We derived Sentinel‐2 NDVI and NDMI and Landsat 8–9 land surface temperature (LST) data sets for 2015–2024, applying a ±3‐day temporal matching window between Sentinel‐2 and Landsat observations. The resulting data sets were combined with in situ measurements of crust properties, sediment texture, and climatic variables and subsequently evaluated using ridge‐penalized logistic regression and Spearman correlation analyses. Results show that inland sabkhas such as Al‐Batha persist as the most recurrent dust sources due to fine, poorly sorted sediments and weak, fragmented crusts in the summer dust season, while coastal sabkhas and tidal flats (Subiya, Bubiyan & Al‐Faw) act as episodic emitters linked to tidal desiccation cycles. The North Marshes remain largely inactive despite their textural emission potential because of thicker, moisture‐retaining crusts. Ridge‐penalized logistic regression confirmed vegetation depletion and independent moisture stress as the dominant predictors controlling dust emission, with LST acting as a secondary amplifier. These integrated field‐satellite results reveal that dust emission arises from the coupled effects of surface texture, crust integrity, and ecohydrological dynamics rather than geomorphic setting alone. The study delivers a field evidenced and high‐resolution database for dust source controls in lower Mesopotamia and Kuwait, improving process understanding and supporting more targeted monitoring and mitigation.